Secondary clock.



L. 0. BEARD.

SECONDARY CLOCK.

APPLICATION man AUG-6, 1915.

1,251,171. Patented Dec. 25 1917.

WITNESSES [NVENTOR I All/[W I LAWRENCEO- name as H ASTER IE F Y ANM E O DA C OCK fipecification of Letters Batent.

Pa e ed Dec- .5 9 7- Application filed August 6, 1915. Serial No. 44,111.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LAWRENCE O. BEARD, a citizen of the United States, and a resi: dent of Lancaster, in the county of Lancaster and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Secondary Clocks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in secondary clocks and more particularly to electrically controlled escapement mechanism therefor,objects of the invention being to so construct the mechanism as to reduce wear to a minimum; to insureaccuracy of operation; to obviate liability of the working parts getting out of proper a justment, and to simplify the construction and number of separate parts of an escapement mechanism of the type to which my invention relates.

A further object is to so construct the escapement that the locking pins or pallets on the verge shall operate in such manner that one of said pins or pallets will prevent the escapement wheel moving forwardly more than one step or tooth at a time while the driving means is moving forwardly and lock said wheel when the latter has been moved a full step, and so that the other pin or pallet shall perform a like function when the driving means has moved backwardly.

\Vith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts as hereinafter set forth and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings; Figure 1 is a front elevation of a clock movement (with a portion of the frame removed) showing an embodiment of my invention, and Fig. 2 is a plan view.

1 represents the frame of a clock movement of the kind employed in secondary clocks, and 2 indicates the escapement wheel of such movement.

An arbor S is located in the upper portion of the frame 1, and a lever et having a general L-shape, is loosely mounted at the juncture of its upright and horizontal portions on said arbor. The depending portion of the lever 4 is made with laterally projecting arms to form a verge 5 having pins or palcured to the frame 1,-+said electro-magnet being included in a suitable electric circuit with mechanism of a master clock (not shown) as is usual. An armature lever 10 for said magnet is pivotally supported in the frame 1 as indicated at 11, and carries a cam-arm 12 disposed directly under and adapted to engage the weighted arm 7 of lever for raising sa1d arm.

The verge 5 which constitutes the depend- N ing portion of the lever 4c, carries a gravity pawl 13 adapted to engage the escapement wheel for propelling the same, and a gravity dog 14: is hung loosely on the arbor 3 so as to, engage the escapement wheel and prevent possibility of retrograde movement thereof.

The armature lever of the magnet carries cushions 15 and 16 to be engaged by the weighted arm 7 of lever L and thus reduce noise to a minimum.

During the operation of the device,- When the magnet is energized, engagement of the cam-arm 12 of its armature lever-10 with the arm 7 of lever 4 will cause the weighted arm 7 to be raised and so move the lever at that the gravity pawl 13 carried by the verge-portion 5 of said lever will move backwardly to position to engage the escapement wheel atthe rear end of the throw of said pawl, and so that the forward pallet 6 will engage against a tooth of said wheel and prevent possibility of forward movement thereof at this time. When the magnet is deenergized so as to release the armature lever, the weighted arm 7 of lever 4: will drop by gravity and cause said lever to turn on its pivotal mounting, thus carrying the verge-portion 5 of said lever forwardly, in the arc of a circle, and the driving pawl 18, engaging a tooth of the escapement wheel, will cause said wheel to move forwardly one step. When the verge is thus being moved forwardly, the forward pin or pallet 6 will promptly leave the face of the tooth with which it had engaged and freely move out from, between two teeth without conflict with them, and as the verge completes its forward movement, the rear pin or pallet 6 will move in between two teeth of the wheel and into engagement *ith one of them, thus locking the wheel against further forward movement. During the time that the wheel is being moved forwardly, the pallets will be successively free from contact with the teeth of said wheel, but at all times, one of the pallets will be between teeth of the ratchet wheel.

My improvements comprise but few parts which are relatively movable, so that the mechanism is not subjected to excessive wear and is not liable to get out of adjustment, but will operate accurately and with certainty.

Slight changes might be made in the details of construction of my invention without departing from the spirit thereof or limiting its scope and hence I do not wish to restrict myself to the exact details herein set forth.

Having fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

1. In a clock, the combination with an escapement wheel, of a lever forming in a unitary structure a weighted arm and a verge arm, pallets carried by the verge arm to cooperate with said wheel, a driving pawl carried by the verge arm and cooperating with said wheel to propel the same by the action of the weighted arm of said lever, electromagnetic means for moving said lever intermittently in a direction towithdraw the driving pawl, and means for preventing retrograde movement of said wheel.

2. In a clock, the combination with an escapement wheel, of a lever forming in a unitary structure, a weighted arm and a verge arm, pallets carried by said verge arm Copien 01 this patent may be obtained for to cooperate with said wheel, a driving pawl carried by said verge arm to propel the wheel by the action of the weighted arm, an electro-magnet, an armature lever, an arm on said armature leverlocated under said weighted arm to raise the same and move said first-mentioned lever in a direction to withdraw the driving pawl, and means for preventing retrograde movement of said wheel.

3. In a clock, the combination with an escapementwheel, of a verge having pallets near respective ends thereof for alternate cooperation with the esc-apement wheel to lock the same, a driving pawl for the escapement wheel, carried by said verge, a gravity device for moving the verge in a direction to actuate the verge and driving pawl to propel the esc'apement wheel, electro-inagnetic means for moving the verge in the other direction, and means for preventing retrograde movement of said wheel.

4. In a clock, the combination with a frame, an. escapement wheel, and an arbor in the upper portion of said frame, of a. weighted lever mounted on said arbor, the depending portion constituting a verge arm carrying pallets for locking the escapcment wheel, a driving pawl carried by said verge arm, electro-magnetically operated means for moving said weighted lever in one direction, and a gravity dog hung on said arbor and engaging the escapement wheel to prevent retrograde movement thereof.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LAWRENCE O. BEARD.

W'itnesses:

JOHN H. MYERS, EVA A. Born.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 0! Patents, Washington, D. C. 

